Dull grey cloudcover

Offers other dark portents;

bright white cover yet to come.

~

Beneath that whiteness

black ice may reside. Caution’s

the word for the day.

When wit is joined with

wisdom, and boring tasks with

fun, I know you’re here, my son.

~

Your boy ain’t all that!

He’s just a guy with values,

inclined to mirth, not dour.

New undertakings

often cause anxiety

until they become routine.

~

Our hearts beat faster

in anticipation of

what the new might bring.

Snow covered branches

reach for the sky as the sun

paints them with a golden brush.

~

A coating of snow

makes of the gloomy forest

a marzipan wonderland.

Samite blankets lay

soft upon the village green,

to be, too soon, trod to mud.

~

Flickering lights cause

some fear. Let’s gather blankets

of another kind.

We all hunker down

waiting to see if the snow,

loudly forecasted, arrives.

~

Something will arrive

and it will be unpleasant.

Thus, it’s wise to hunker down.

His crippled ego,

surrounded by enemies,

imagines some of them, friends.

~

Imagination

is what he’s got left after

his numerous betrayals.

The big explorer

finally returned home, his paws

decided to take a pause.

~

The mud-pack, I’m sure,

and pumicing from the road,

were adequate pedicure.

Soaking in silence

Drifting in my self warmed bed

Avoiding duty’s summons

~

Sometimes our bodies

summons us to abandon

duty and just get some rest.

A new year begins.

We can decide to do what

we can or simply go hide.

~

Running doesn’t help.

Hiding is impossible.

All that remains is to fight.

Sudden surprises,

rarely welcomed with relish,

open the door to progress.

~

But they sometimes slam

one door firmly shut before

they open others.

Some things, like healing,

can’t be rushed, but they can be

slowly helped along.

~

Careful attention

and diligent adherence

to self care is all it takes.

Radial colors

swirl round every spot of light

when the coughing spasms pass.

~

Those coughing spasms

are no fun, but they did bring

color into a gray day.

A relaxing week

with family at the beach, but

Knox and the cats were not pleased.

~

Communication

of canine and feline pique

is often found in one’s shoes.

Check-out approaches

with such an unseemly haste,

can they be shocked we dawdle?

~

Our super power

is dawdling, but some folks

think we just checked out.

Twas the day after

Christmas and all through the house

what was stirring? Just the mouse.

~

People all prostrate

linger indolent abed

thoughts inchoate swirl in their heads.

How far from the grid

do we have to get before

even Santa can’t find us?

~

Santa delivered

the gift you sought. Seagulls filled

our stockings instead.

Help! Even though I’ve

said hello, the ocean keeps

on waving at me.

~

Beckoning you come,

play among the foamy Sprites,

disregarding floating ice.

Just imagine Knox

bounding up and down the strand

chasing after those Seagulls!

~

All the while he

would probably be barking,

begging for some wings.

Beaches in winter

sing to a smaller group of

folks, but still they sing.

~

Seas are hard to beat

for providing an expanse

in which to contemplate and breathe.

Sudden snow showers

falling from a sunny sky

took the highway by surprise.

~

From sun-lit beaches

to sun-lit snow, Virginia

has something for everyone.

It seems the only

qualification needed in

Trump’s world is incompetence.

~

Not incompetence,

but, rather, sycophancy,

are the chops appointees need.

Why must we battle

violently about the means

if, on the ends, we agree?

~

Sometimes the means we

take to get somewhere matters

more than the fact we arrived.

It takes so little

(food, water, companionship)

and dogs and cats are content.

~

So too, some people

are contented with the like.

Other crave more… to their loss.

In our great hubris,

we believe we understand

the impact of our actions

~

Hubris always fails

to acknowledge there are parts

of the story we don’t know.

When the choice is sticks

or squirrels, it’s squirrels (paws

down) every time for Knox.

~

He should jump higher!

And thus, therefore, acquire

both stick and squirrel entire.

Signs, Omens, Portents;

products of anxiety,

or just grokking history?

~

The universe speaks

to us in multiple ways –

sometimes using sign language

Reasonableness

is truly out of fashion

in contemporary discourse.

~

Who applies reason

while heeding a delusion

propagating enmity?

The new policy:

Redistribute wealth some more;

Making the have nots, have naughts.

~

And greed again trumps

common sense, outreach, and care:

me first policy laid bare.

Knox was so thrilled

when the flowers arrived, but

dismayed when they weren’t for him.

~

Flowers bring pleasure

to people and dogs alike,

more so, when unexpected.